The
Amish & the Pennsylvania Dutch
The Amish are a religious
group who live in settlements in 22 states and
Ontario, Canada. The oldest group of Old Order
Amish, about 16-18,000 people live in Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania. The Amish stress humility,
family and community, and separation from the
world.
Although Lancaster Amish are Pennsylvania Dutch,
all Pennsylvania Dutch are not Amish. The
Pennsylvania Dutch are natives of Central
Pennsylvania, particularly Lancaster and its
surrounding counties. Unlike the Amish, they are
not all one religion. Instead, their common bond
is a mainly German background (Pennsylvania Dutch
is actually Pennsylvania Deutsch, or German).
They also have Welsh, English, Scottish, Swiss,
and French ancestry.
|